


a tale of two wolves

by BeatrizCaelum



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, i just love sean and daniel so so so much AND I NEED THE SECOND EPISODE RIGHT NOW, it's just pure wolf-themed fluff, the classic thing with the nightmare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-21 00:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16148438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeatrizCaelum/pseuds/BeatrizCaelum
Summary: Sean wakes up to a knock on his door and a very scared baby brother.





	a tale of two wolves

Sean does not hear the first knock on the door.

He is not sure if it is the second or the third one that reaches his ears. He stirs and waits for an instant — he wants to make sure that what he is hearing is not a dream that lasted a little too long, tinting reality. The thick raindrops outside engulf the knocks almost entirely and he is tempted to fall asleep again, but they persist. A feather-like sound that barely feels real before fading away, as tiny as the boy that must be standing outside his room. However, very much like Daniel, it grows louder and harder to ignore.

With a groan, Sean opens his eyes and lets the world come to him in waves. There is something on his chest, he realizes. It is light and familiar. He reaches for it and soon enough his fingers brush his sketchbook. At the dim moonlight that comes from the window near his desk, Sean can only make out a few lines from today’s evening; very precise although drawn quickly, some traces of Lyla’s beaming face. He was making her a portrait before his consciousness drifted away. _Dios_ , how he misses being asleep right now.

He knows it’s not Dad disturbing his long-awaited rest.  Call it older brother instinct, his very sensitive nature or simply being accustomed to it, but he knows that his current bother has big brown eyes and barely nine years living in this exhausting world. Yet, it is nice to get a confirmation, which comes in the form of an unsteady whisper.

“Sean?”

 “Go away,” he answers. “It’s too late. Too early. Whatever.”

Daniel is not one to follow the rules — his rules, at least. When it comes to Dad, it is a different story. He always has a way to make his mischievous little brother behave well. Firm and commanding, but still warm and gentle. Naturally, Daniel pays no mind to Sean’s request and opens the door just enough to peek inside.

“Sean, I can’t sleep.”  He whines.

A deep sigh makes its way out of his body. Sean can kiss his sleep goodbye.  “Yeah, I can see that.”

“I really, really can’t.”  Daniel goes on, opening the door further. “I’m serious.”

Sean can barely see the form of his little brother coming in. The steps that echo when Daniel walks towards his bed, just like his previous knocks, are nothing to the thunderstorm outside; it makes every other sound look like a rough, long-forgotten draft in someone’s desk. Lyla says that his habit of making drawing metaphors all the time is incredibly annoying – “kinda charming though, let’s find an artsy girl for you!”

“Is it the rain?” Sean finds himself asking despite his overwhelming desire to stay silent until Daniel eventually leaves.

His brother hesitates.

“Yes and no.”

“What kind of answer even is that?”

“An honest one!”

“You know what,” Sean decides, “just go to Dad. Leave me be.”

“I don’t want to bother Dad…”

“But bothering me is just fine.” Sean deadpans. “Well, you’re here. Be my guest.”

“I had a bad dream,” his brother begins, “and the rain isn’t helping either. It’s keeping me awake and I can’t stop thinking about my nightmare.”

The way that Daniel’s voice cracks slightly catches Sean attention. With a frown, he lights up the bedside lamp to reveal a red and puffed-eyed boy in dinosaur pajamas. Daniel blinks twice. He is surprised that he has been caught, sure, but Sean feels the tiniest of smiles on his lips when he realizes that his brother is not even a bit ashamed of the crying — he stands there somewhat sniffy and with no intentions of hiding the few tears on his cheek that Sean quickly brushes away with his thumb. Dad is always reminding them that boys and men can and _should_ cry when they feel like it, say _te quiero_ when they love someone and be open and kind as much as they can.

“Been kinda down lately, bro?”

 “Just a little.” Daniel turns the bedside lamp off. “This hurts my eyes. They can’t suffer any damage, you know. How else would I play Minecraft?”

Sean rolls his eyes. “This game is annoying as hell.”

“You swore!” He says somewhat loudly. “And Minecraft isn’t annoying. You don’t know what the cool games are.”

Instead of taking the bait, Sean asks, “What’s on your mind?”

“My brain,” comes the answer right away. “Duh.”

“No,” Sean laughs faintly. “That would only be an acceptable answer if I had said _head_.”

“Oh,” Daniel breathes. “Can I change my answer to chocolate cake?”

“You hungry?” He asks. “I can get up and make something. Or I can just find you that candy bar you like so much.”

“Nah, no need.” Daniel shrugs. “I can’t have any sugar that late anyways. Not healthy.”

“My pride and joy,” Sean teases. “I was just testing you.”

His little brother snorts, happier than he was before, but Sean can still sense the fear emanating from his small body. Something inside him hurts and he feels his voice soften; that tone that he uses with Daniel whenever he needs to be comforted. These situations are getting rarer as he grows up, but a kid is still a kid.

“Wanna talk about that bad dream?”

Daniel’s expression collapses and he looks in some random direction behind Sean’s head, avoiding eye contact.

“I…” He coughs. “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“Hey. Come here, _enano_.”

Daniel accepts Sean’s invitation with a smile and joins him under the covers. The boy lets out a blissful little sigh as he starts stroking his hair, rhythm slow and steady. Daniel is adorable like that, all warm and quiet, and Sean almost forgets that he usually has an unruly brat as a brother.

“Thought you would never offer!” He complains. “I was getting cold.”

“You can always just ask, you know.”  Sean reminds him. “You know there is no one better than me to chase the monsters away.”

“I don’t believe in monsters!” Daniel huffs with indignation. Then, he considers. “Well, not the kind of monster that lives under the bed. That’s for little kids. The Bigfoot is real, obviously. And zombies, too. And I guess vampires. And… and werewolves,” he trails off. “But I don’t like wolves anymore.”

“What?” Sean frowns. “You love them. You’re my wolf boy.”

Daniel’s tiny hand finds his.  Sean squeezes it gently. “Not after the nightmare…”

“No way I’m letting some dream ruin wolves for you,” he starts, “I’ll make you like them again. Tell me what happened, kiddo.”

“We were camping.”

“So far so good.”

“Yeah, but Dad was nowhere to be seen. Why would we go to the woods without him? That’s the first weird thing. And we didn’t have any camping stuff! And no food!” Daniel turns his head up to look at him. “Isn’t that crazy?”

“It makes no sense,” Sean agrees. “We’re smart enough to bring a tent. At least I am. You only would be worried about bringing your toys, you big baby.” There is not a single trace of malice on his tone, and Daniel rolls his eyes fondly.

“Whatever. My toys are more important than your sketchbook.” He pauses. “No, I take that back. Your drawings are awesome.”

Sean smiles, “Thanks, _pequeño_.”

“So, we were out in the woods. We made a cool fire and everything. But then I heard a noise…” He holds his breath for a moment. “A really scary one. I thought it was a bear. I tried waking you up, but you were out cold. I would scream your name and nothing. Nothing. Like you were dead.”

Daniel sounds like he is about to cry again, so Sean holds him closer; he turns him over a little so he can reach his back and rub small, calming circles on it. He trembles on his embrace.

“That would never happen,” he assures. “Your voice is pretty loud, Daniel. I can hear it from far, far away. Your lungs don’t joke around.” Sean points out. “Shit, I forgot where they are. Are they here? Or here?”

Sean starts ticking him all over his body, laughing too when hysterical giggles escape from his little brother. He squirms and squirms breathless, and Sean finishes his attack with a loud raspberry on Daniel’s belly.

“You monster,” Daniel gasps between laughs.

“That’s right,” he says in a serious tone. “The undefeatable tickle monster.”

“You made me forget where I was.”

“It seems then that the undefeatable tickle monster has many powers.”

“You’re so dumb, Sean.”

“Takes one to know one.”

He sniffs after calming down, “Oh, I remember it. You didn’t wake up. And it was no bear.”

“It was a wolf,” Sean guesses.

“Its fur was a dark shade of red. Like blood. The claws were way too sharp for a regular wolf. But the scarier thing… the eyes, Sean. Completely black. A void. It made its way towards you with its mouth open and… I could only watch. Like a coward.”

“Geez,” he gulps, “I don’t plan to be anyone’s dinner any time soon.”

“I thought it was going to get me too,” Daniel says, “But it was worse. It just left me there. Alone. I hate when… when I’m left behind. Just like…”

“Just like Mom,” Sean nods. He feels his throat burn. After all these years, it’s like a fresh wound, as if he has to watch her leave every single day of his life, every time Dad seems too tired raising them all by himself.            

“Yeah,” Daniel whispers. Then, he says, “Stupid wolf.”

Sean closes his eyes for a brief moment. It’s always like this. They touch the subject and soon enough they are running from it as fast as they can. Dad stopped saying her name a few years ago, and Daniel gets his favorite meal every Mother’s day to cheer him up a bit. It all seems senseless, a pain too deep to escape from, a face that his memory cannot touch anymore without getting lost in years that will never return.

“Hey,” Sean forces himself to say, “It’s okay. Like you said, it wasn’t a normal wolf. It’s the kind of stuff that only shows up when you’re dreaming. And you totally know what would have happened in real life.”

Daniel blinks. “I do?”

“Bro, are you kidding me? You would have tamed him.” Sean smiles. “Actually, you two would be best buddies in no time.”

“You’re my best buddy,” Daniel yawns. “Not when you’re being a butthead, though.”

He ignores the last comment. “The wolf will let you name it, even.”

“Super Skeleton.”

“What?” Sean blinks. “What did you just said?”

“The name,” he says somewhat impatiently, “the wolf’s name. It’s my nickname on Minecraft.”

“Of course it is,” he rolls his eyes. “Anyway, you don’t have anything to worry about, dude. If we ever come across a wolf, you howl like you like to do and everything will be okay. You will even get to travel on its back.”

He looks down to Daniel, who seems to be pondering intensely what he has just said.

“What if is a bad wolf, Sean?”

“Then I’ll make sure it doesn’t get near you. My howling is great. We would make a good pair of wolves, you know.” He also yawns. “The Wolf Brothers. Nothing can tear us apart.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Daniel is now looking at him with vulnerable, trusting eyes, and Sean feels his heart melting. He would do anything in the world to make sure he keeps being worth of Daniel’s loyalty, he realizes with a mix of apprehension and that exact kind of love that Dad always reminds them of. Sean wonders for a moment if Mom left because she could not feel it; that undying force that disarms your, makes someone go down to their knees, strips them bare, chest open and bleeding.

They lay down close to each other for a while, the rain long gone. With a quick kiss on Daniel’s forehead, he whispers in the dark:

_“Te quiero.”_

Daniel’s slight snore is just the answer he wanted to hear.

**Author's Note:**

> I NEEDED fluffy content with these two. I was refreshing the ao3 Life is Strange tag like crazy and nothing about the Diaz brothers would show up, so I took the matter on my own hands. important: ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE! My native language is Brazilian Portuguese!! (I think my English is decent enough, though. And I took Spanish classes as a pre-teen.) So please feel free to point out any mistakes! I mean it! Help me make this story better for you all to enjoy <3  
> I NEED EPISODE 2 ASAP HELP ME  
> come SCREAM WITH ME ABOUT LIS2 AT MY TUMBLR holyhikari


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